Budget Camping Safaris in Uganda – Uganda camping adventures – Camping in Uganda
Budget Camping Safaris in Uganda: Uganda is one of the most exciting destinations for a truly rewarding African safari. Uganda allows you to choose the kind of adventure you wish to have. whether you are a luxury or budget traveler camping is always the best experience as it gets you close to nature and wilderness.
Types of Camping Safaris in Uganda
In Uganda, there are three types of camping safaris and these include,
- Self-catered safaris
- scheduled camping safaris
- Luxury camping safaris.
Your Uganda camping safari experience will highly be determined by the type of safari you consider among the above three. Below is a further breakdown of the same.
Self-catered camping safaris.
Self-catered camping safaris are the type of camping safaris where tourists do the entire planning and execute the camping by themselves, this means tourists handle their own accommodations, flights, local transport, meals, and entrance tickets among others.
Almost everything about a self-catered camping safari is taken care of by the tourists themselves. However, it is necessary to delegate a few activities or aspects of the safari such as booking and securing gorilla trekking permits, chimpanzee tracking permits, and boat tickets, which require prior booking.
Scheduled Camping Safaris.
Scheduled camping safaris in Uganda are organized by tour operators together with their agents from different locations, the tour operators target travelers who are willing to visit the same camping destinations at the same time of the year.
Note: There are no entirely camping scheduled safaris, however, there is always a tour operator willing to organize a camping safari on your preferred dates.
With scheduled camping safaris, all you need as a camper is to pay a set fare for your safari, and all the requirements for your camping are covered in your camping package. In the scheduled safari, items included in the package and items not included are listed.
Luxury Camping in Uganda.
In most of the national parks in Uganda, there are several options for luxury camping, this type of camping is offered through safari ground tents that are well-designed to match the ambiance of a hotel room. Luxury camping is also referred to as glamping.
Planning for a camping safari in Uganda.
As a traveler, planning for your camping safari can be done by a tour operator or yourself. When planning for a budget camping safari in Uganda, here are some of the things to consider.
Choose the type of camping you are interested in and that fits your budget
When planning a Budget camping safari in Uganda, you should identify the type of camping that fits your budget, there are 3 camping options in Uganda including ground camping for budget travelers, rooftop tent camping perfect for midrange travelers, and glamping for luxury and mid-range travelers. Camping in Uganda generally depends on the budget of the client.
Choose the camping season.
The season you choose to go camping in Uganda determines the camping experience. The best time for camping in Uganda is in the dry seasons in the months of December, January, February, July, and August. However, Uganda’s seasons are very unpredictable, unexpected rain can be experienced even in the dry season.
Budget Camping Safaris in Uganda
Things to do while on a budget Camping safari in Uganda
Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking.
Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking is one of the top Uganda safari activities to do in Uganda. The country is home to various other primate species including Golden Monkeys, and olive baboons among others.
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda on a budget camping safari in Uganda is done in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, for you to be allowed to go for the gorilla trek you will need to have a gorilla permit which costs USD700 for the foreign nonresidents, USD600 for the East African Residents and USD70 for the East African Citizens, this allows you to spend one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas. You can as well opt for a 4-hour encounter experience that is Gorilla Habituation which costs USD1500 per person per trek, this allows spending more time with the Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Forest National Park
Chimpanzee tracking in Uganda is done in Kibale Forest National Park, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kalinzu Forest, and Budongo Forest close to Murchison Falls National Park. The chimpanzee tracking is done in the morning and afternoon and we can book for you the permits and organize this trek for you depending on the itinerary and timing of the activities. For normal chimpanzee tracking, a Chimpanzee permit costs USD200 for foreign nonresidents, USD150 for the residents, and USD30 for the citizens and this gives you one hour encounter with the chimpanzees. You can as well do the chimpanzee habituation experience which gives you a half-day encounter with the chimpanzees; this is only done in Kibale Forest National Park
Wildlife and Game viewing safaris.
You will be able to do various game drives in the savannah national parks of Kidepo Valley National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, and Uganda’s most popular National Park Queen Elizabeth National Park, wildlife to see includes tree climbing lions, Buffaloes, Elephants, warthogs, Giraffes, Zebras, Leopard, among others.
Cultural and community encounters.
Uganda is ranked among countries with the most diverse cultures with more than 50 ethnic tribes and languages, you will be able to enjoy various cultural experiences, and you will be able to visit many communities in various national park part of your itinerary where the local community will share with you the hard experience of living near the park and how they have managed to co-exist peacefully with wildlife you will as well enjoy the cultural encounters and traditional dances.
Mountain Climbing adventures.
Mountain climbing is another amazing adventure activity that you can add to your budget camping safari to Uganda. Uganda is a land of various hills, mountains, and highlands, giving you a great opportunity for hiking activities. Mountains include Elgon, Rwenzori, Moroto, Sabinyo, Muhavura, and Gahinga, which are common for hiking.
Bird-watching safaris.
With over 1000 recorded bird species in Uganda, Uganda is one of the best destinations for birding in Africa; it is home to various migrant birds and Albertine endemics with the Shoebill as one of the must-see bird specie. The major birding areas in Uganda include Bwindi Forest, Mabamba swamp, Bigodi wetland, and Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park among others many birds as well can be spotted during game drives in various national parks.
Boat Safari excursions
With various lakes and rivers in Uganda boat trips and excursions are one of another top Uganda safari activities to do, Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and River Nile Excursions to the top of the falls and the Delta allow you to enjoy wildlife up-close and various water animals in Murchison Falls National Park.
What is the best time to Visit Uganda for a budget camping safari?
The best time for visiting Uganda is during December to February and then June to October which is relatively drier than March to May and November. Uganda is crossed by the equator making her experience a modified equatorial type of climate with two rainy seasons. Because of this, people tend to associate drier seasons as the best time to visit Uganda. This is true because when it is raining, it becomes hard to drive through the park for wildlife viewing because of the heavy rains that make the trails too slippery.
Budget Camping Safaris in Uganda
Contact us with any inquiries and questions on how to organize a budget camping safari in Uganda.
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